Storage rack and sprinkler arrangement



. United States Patent [72] Inventors Duane J. Lillibridge [56] References Cited St. Charles; and min UNITED STATES PATENTS 21 A l N 3:33; Tuley 2,734,583 2/1956 Milan 169/5 f A film 1969 2,809,074 10/1957 McDonald..... 239/209 1 e 1 3,050,134 8/1962 Multin 169/5 Contlnuatlon-m-part of application Ser. No. 731,782, May 24, 1968, Patent No. FOREIGN PATENTS 3,520,345, 12,307 10/1912 Great Britain 169/5 [45] Patented Nov. 10, 1970 Primar E y xammer--M. Henson Wood, Jr. [73] Asslgnee Unam g g Assistant Examiner-Michael Y. Mar

3 corpora on 0 AttorneyNorman Lettvin ABSTRACT: A storage rack and sprinkler arrangement STORAGE RACK AND SPRINKLER wherein vertical tubular supports, having spaced sprinkler ARRANGEMENT heads or sprinkler headers thereon, vertically support the 6 Claims 9 Drawing Figs racks while simultaneously conveying fire extinguishing liquid [52] [1.8. CI. 239/209, to the sprinkler heads and cooling the vertical supports to re- 52/93, 169/16 sist collapse thereof when the structural supports are exposed [51] Int. Cl. B051) 15/06 to fire. The vertical tubular supports and/or other vertical rack [50] Field of Search 239/200, supports may also support a roof and wall panels in addition to providing a structure for enclosing the racks.

Patented Nov. 10, 1970 3,539,108

Sheet 1 012 INVENTORS 0. u. L/LL/BR/DGE BY LAWRENCE 6. PECK A TTO/P/VEYS STORAGE RACK AND SPRINKLER ARRANGEMENT CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation-in-part of our copending application, Ser. No. 731,782, filed May 24, 1968, now US. Pat. No. 3,520,345, entitled STORAGE RACK AND SPRIN- KLER ARRANGEMENT.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a storage rack and sprinkler arrangement and, more particularly, to a new and improved arrangement where the sprinkler fluid conveying conduits are arranged to act as structural support members themselves.

Fire sprinkler systems are usually required, by local law, to be installed in warehouses and other article storage areas. Previous sprinkler systems are generally installed as separate building accessories and are related to the articles stored and the racks that they are stored upon only to the extent that the sprinkler heads are generally located in the overhead of the same space as the articles and racks. Such prior arrangements necessitate the extensive repetitive use of separate structural construction materials to support the article storage racks, the roof and walls of the building and the sprinkler system itself. Such repetitive use of structural materials is wasteful of both time and materials. Moreover, the sprinkler heads are frequently located a substantial distance from the stored articles and their storage racks, thereby substantially reducing the systems effectiveness in the event of fire. Also in such prior arrangements, the structural supports for the racks and/or building, when subjected to intense heat from a fire, frequently collapse resulting in extensive structural, personnel and article damage.

It is accordingly a principal object of the invention to provide a new and improved storage rack and sprinkler arrangement which substantially reduces the expenditure of both time and materials and in which the sprinkling assembly is itself utilized as a support structure.

It is also a principal object of the invention to provide a new and improved storage rack and sprinkler arrangement wherein the sprinkler heads are arranged in close proximity to the stored articles and relative to each other so as to provide an effective extinguishing coverage and arrangement in the event of fire.

Accordingly, it is another principal object of the'invention to substantially reduce the possiblity of collapse of the rack, building and sprinkler system support structure in the event of fire by forming the structural support of same as part of the extinguishing system so that the structural support members of same are cooled by the flow of extinguish-fluid.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In a principal aspect, the invention takes the form of a new and improved interrelationship of a fire extinguishing assembly with storage racks and includes rack support means having a tubular support conduit which conducts a pressurized extinguishing fluid therethrough under pressure. Storage bin forming means are attached to the support conduit and sprinkler means communicate through the wall of the conduit for delivering pressurized fluid to the sprinkler means and cool the support conduits.

These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood when considering the following detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the course of the description, reference will frequently be III FIG. 3 is a plan view of another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged elevation view of one preferred embodiment of sprinkler and rack arrangement of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is an elevation view of the sprinkler and rack ar rangement of FIG. 4 rotated FIG. 6 is a side elevation view of another embodiment of the storage rack, building structure and sprinkler arrangement of our invention in which multiple sprinklers are arranged on elongated headers and protect multiple shelves in the storage space;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectioned elevation view taken along line 7-7 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a partial view of an upwardly directed header and sprinkler head embodiment for use in the arrangement shown in FIG. 6; and

FIG. 9 is a partial view of a downwardly directed header and sprinkler head embodiment for use in the arrangement shown in FIG. 6.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring. to FIG. I, one or more storage racks 10 are pro vided for the storage of articles. Each of the storage racks 10 includes a plurality of vertical supports I2 and a plurality of horizontal supports 14 and 15 extending along the depth and length, respectively, of the racks 10. Additional ancillary supports 16 may be provided, if necessary, to provide a stable, rigid storage rack assembly. All of the horizontal supports 14 support storage shelves 18 which, in turn, carry either the articles themselves or'pallets filled with the articles, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.

The storage racks 10 are further vertically supported by vertical tubular supports 20 which are an integral part of the racks and which are interspersed between the vertical supports 12, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. These tubular supports 20 perform both the latter mentioned support function as well as operate to deliver fireextinguishing fluid, such as water, to the storage racks 10 and the articles stored thereon. To provide for ease in attaching the horizontal supports 14 to the tubular supports 20, the tubular supports are preferably square or rectangular in cross section. Each of the tubular supports 20 is constructed of suitable materials and is of suitable thickness to withstand the pressure of the water therein and also the stresses produced by the structures which they support. More specifically, each of the tubular conduits, when finally installed, is adapted to pass the particular fire code test requirements of the locality for fire sprinkler systems which, for example in some localities, is 200 p.s.i. for 2 hours. The tubular supports 20 include a plurality of branch conduits 22 spaced along their length and extending angularly therefrom. Disposed at the end of each of the branch conduits 22, is a conventional heat actuated sprinkler head 24. Preferably, each of the branch conduits and sprinkler heads is disposed upon alternating sides of its tubular support 20. Hence, as shown in FIG. 4, the upper branch conduit 22 and sprinkler head 24 extend to the right of the tubular support 20 while the next adjacent lower branch conduit 22 and sprinkler head 24 extend to the left of its tubular support 20. The alternating vertical disposition of the sprinkler heads along its tubular support 20 avoids the possible situation from arising where the spray produced upon the initiation of one sprinkler head would cool the adjacent sprinkler head to the extent that its sprinkling action would not be initiated. However, the sprinkler heads 24 may, in the alternative, be located on one or all sides of the tubular support, if desired.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and S, a suitable main 26, which is connected to a water supply under pressure, is connected to each of the tubular supports by connecting branch conduits 28. The point of connection of the branch conduits 28 to the tubular supports 20 is spaced a short distance above the lowest extending portion of the tubular supports. Such displacement provides a sump 34 at the very bottom of the tubular supports 20. The sump acts to collect dirt, scale and other foreign matter which might plug the sprinkler heads 24 during their operation. The foreign matter tends to settle in sump 34 where it may be periodically withdrawn by a valved tap 36 which is located at the bottom of the sump. The main 26 may be located at the top of the tubular supports, if desired, the sump still being provided at the bottom of the tubular supports.

As shown in FIG. 1, each of the tubular supports 20 preferably includes at its top, a pressure relief valve 30. The purpose of pressure relief valve 30 is to relieve any steam which might be generated within the tubular support in the event of fire. Such steam, if generated, would impede the continuous flow of water to the sprinkler heads 24. Also disposed at the top of each of the tubular supports 20 is a valved tap 32 for bleeding trapped air from the tubular support when the system is initially charged with water.

In one embodiment of the invention, the tubular supports 20, in addition to vertically supporting the storage racks 10, also support the building structure which houses the storage racks. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a roof 38 is provided having a plurality of generally horizontal trusses 40. The tops of the storage racks may be adjacent the trusses 40 or they may be disposed a short distance below the trusses as shown in FIG. 1. In either instance, the tops of the tubular supports are arranged in supporting relationship with their associated trusses 40 such that the supports also support the trusses and their associated roof. The tubular supports 20 of the storage racks about the outer periphery of the storage area, may also include suitable fasteners 44 for attaching building wall panels 42. Thus, a complete building structure may be provided wherein the tubular supports 20 not only deliver water to the tire extinguishing sprinkler heads, but also support the storage racks as well as the building structure surrounding the storage racks. Preferably, the fasteners 44 are affixed to the tubular supports by a method which avoids puncturing the tubular supports, e.g., welding.

Another embodiment is shown in FIG. 3, wherein the tubular supports 20 which deliver the fire extinguishing water only support the storage racks 10. The roof truss 40 and/or building wall panels 42 are supported by at least some of the vertical supports 12 of the storage racks. This embodiment is desirable where itis sought to minimize the stresses which bear upon the pressurized water carrying tubular supports 20. Each of the embodiments shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, eliminates the necessity of additional structural materials solely for support of the building structure.

Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, another embodiment of sprinkler and rack arrangement is shown which substantially reduces the possibility of shadow effect which might be produced by the vertical supports 12 in the above described embodiments where the heads 24 are mounted directly on and relatively close to the supports. In this embodiment a plurality of vertical racks I0, 10' and 10 defining storage space are provided with the racks spaced from each other, as in the embodiments previously described, to form access aisles 50 therebetween. Although only two aisles and three racks are shown. it will be understood that any number of racks are contemplated. Each of the rack structures is braced by horizontal stringers 51 as necessary. The double-bay rack structures 10 and I0, with aisles 50 on each side for access to both bays, each includes acentral vertical row of upright tubular support-conduits 52 and outer-aisle rows of regular supports 53 and 54 which may be of a cross section as desired. The singlebay end rack structure 10 includes only two parallel rows of vertical supports, the aisle-row 56 and a support-conduit row 58. Each of the central rows of supports 52 and the end row 58 has associated therewith one or more horizontally extending sprinkler headers 60 through 66 which are mounted on and communicate with various ones of the individual vertical tubular support-conduits of the aforesaid rows, the headers 60 each extending just beneath the next upper bin as defined by horizontal supports 67 or just beneath the roof of the building.

The horizontal supports 67 form slideways upon which the articles are stored either directly or in palletized form.

The various vertical tubular support-conduits are similar in construction to the support-conduits 20 previously described.

' A plurality of roof beams or trusses, generally indicated as 68,

and more specifically 68A through 68H, extend generally horizontally, or transversely, to the rows of upright supports and, as shown for example, each of said trusses may be directly supported at least in part by one of the respective ver tical support conduits 52A toSZH, as shown in FIG. 7. Various ones of the vertical support conduits in the outermost row 58 may include fasteners 44 for at least in part supporting the building wall panels 42 thereon, as previously described. Preferably the fasteners 44, as well as the horizontal supports 67, and other structural members are secured to the exterior only of the vertical support conduits 52 and 58 in such a manner, for example by welding, as to avoid any openings through the wall of the supports and so as to maintain the integrity of such support-conduit as a liquid tight means for transmitting therethrough or retaining therein liquid, such as water, under pressure. For prefabrication purposes, supportconduit would preferably have provided on the exterior thereof, at stations spaced along the length of the support, one or more securement structures, such as a flange or collar, to which other structural elements could be connected in the field during assemblage.

A main 70 feeds a plurality of branch mains 72 which supply fire-extinguishing fluid, such as water, to each of the selected vertical tubular supports in rows 52 and 58 which have sprinkler headers mounted thereon. By way of example, every fourth vertical support may be selected to feed a group of headers mounted thereon, while the other vertical supports supply other groups of headers. Thus, as shown in FIG. 7, vertical support 52E and/or 52D may feed the highest header 65 just below the roof, while adjacent support 52D and/or 52C may supply the next lower header 62, and support 52C and/or 528 may feed the next lowest header 60. Clearly, one or more support-conduits may feed one or more headers at one or more different levels, but different vertical supports are preferably chosen to supply the lower headers and the roof headers respectively so as to maximize the number of supports which are supplied with, and cooled by, the liquid and so as to maximize reduction in the possibility of structural failure due to heat in the event of tire, and also so as to ensure that an adequate supply of protecting liquid is provided adjacent and for the roof headers notwithstanding the tendency of heat of the fire to accumulate adjacent the roof and notwithstanding the resistance head to liquid flow encountered by reason of the height of the elevated headers 64, 65 and 66.

Each of the headers 60 through 66 includes an elongated pipe that, in the example shown, spans a distance substantially equal to twice the average spacing of adjacent supports 52 or 58 and which pipe has a sprinkler head 24 and 24 positioned at each end thereof. The sprinkler heads are preferably of the temperature actuated type although others may be acceptable. In any event, water is supplied constantly under pressure through the conduits and headers to the sprinkler heads so that the conduits 52, 58 and headers 60-66 are always protected from a fires heat since the liquid not only quenches the fire but serves to absorb heat and thus protect the structural integrity of the support-conduits. The spray pattern of each of the heads 24 and 24 of a given header is selected so as to join in coverage with the sprinkler heads of other headers. By way of example, referring to FIGS. 6 and 7 the heads 24 are designed so that their spray horizontally covers a substantially circular area having a radius of about 1% times the dimension of a bin or bay of the rack, the bay dimension being the spacing of each pair of adjacent supports 52 or 58, or about onehalf of the width dimension of the double bay rack 10 as viewed in FIG. 6. Such sprinkler head coverage provides aisle protection as shown in FIG. 6, as well as full bay protection where the heads are horizontally positioned spaced from each other in the mid point of about every third bay. Thus sprinkler head 24 of header 61 provides a spray blanket that covers at least onephalf of adjacent aisles 50 on each side of rack 10, as well as the bays in which it is positioned between vertical supports 52E and 52F, and also about at least one-half the bays laterally outwardly of supports 52E and 52F. The entire bays between supports 526 and 52H and the other half of the bays betwee'n 52F and 526, in turn, are protected by the other head 24' on header 61.

In addition, the spray headers on the vertical supports at the different vertical levels are laterally offset or staggered as shown in FIG. 7 to optimize coverage and so as to also permit use of different support-conduits for supplying different headers. Thus, by way of example, the lower header 60 on vertical support 52C has one of its heads 24 positioned in the bay between supports 52A and 52B and its other head 24' in the bay between supports 52C and 52D while the next upper header 62 has its heads 24 and 24' in the skipped bays between supports 52B and 52C and supports 52D and 52E, respectively. Even though the roof headers 64, 65 and 66 are connected to different vertical supports, their sprinkler head arrangement preferably follows the vertically alternating format just described.

Although the sprinkler heads 24, 24' and headers are shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 as being vertically spaced in alternate horizontal levels of bays, it will be appreciated that the vertical spacing and coverage may be varied depending upon the vertical size of the bays and'the nature and size of the articles to be stored in the racks. In any event, since the sprinkler heads 24 and 24' are positioned substantially centrally between pairs of the vertical supports 52, 58, the area of water spray from each head which may be obstructed, or shadowed, by the presence of such vertical supports is substantially reduced which, in turn, results in improved spray coverage by any given sprinkler head.

Although the sprinkler heads 24, 24' are shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 as being directed downwardly from their headers, it is contemplated that when desired the spray from such heads may be directed upwardly therefrom. It is desirable that the spray be directed into an uppermost portion of any bay, as that is most likely to be empty, and, with regard to uppermost headers, such as 64, 65 and 66, such location of the spray provides greatest protection for the roof. In FIG. 8 a typical arrangement is shown including header 62' which is connected for communication to the vertical support 52C. The sprinkler head 24 is positioned to spray in the space S obtaining above the stored article A and beneath the stored article A in the next uppermost bin. Typical spray patterns of oppositely positioned spray heads 24 are seen in FIGS. 8 and 9. A downwardly directed spray pattern is shown in FIG. 9, the head also directing its pattern through the space S obtaining between stored articles A and A.

By utilizing the vertical tubular supports or 52 which help support the storage racks 10 for multiple purposes, such as being sprinkler-carrying members and extinguishing-fluid conduits, location of the sprinkler heads closely adjacent the stored articles themselves is made possible and the structural supporting members are provided with a cooling flow of liquid therethrough which, in the event of fire, operates to substantially reduce the possibility of rack or building collapse. Thus, while minimizing the amount of construction materials necessary, optimum fire protection capabilities within the storage space may be realized. The arrangement of the present invention is also particularly suited for use with prefab or preconstruction techniques.

It is to be understood that the embodiments of the invention which have been described are merely illustrative of a few applications of the principles of the invention. Numerous modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention.

We claim:

1. In a fire-protected, roofed, rack-building wherein a rack structure means, that provides both for article storage and for building support includes u right, tubular, sup ort-conduit members for both aiding in t e support of tiers o the articlestorage rack means and for conveying therethrough pressurized fire extinguishing liquid that operates to absorb heat transmitted thereto through said tubular support means in the event of fire, the improvement comprising, in combination: said liquid-conveying, upright, tubular support-conduit members operating to help directly support the buildings roof and being cooled by the liquid carried therethrough to prevent collapse ofthe buildings roof in the event ofa fire in the building, sprinkler means connected to and supplied from said upright tubular support members for protecting both the rack structure means and the goods stored thereon from fire, and a portion of said sprinkler means being positioned closely adjacent the underside of the roof to protect the roof from fire and from damage by heated gas that accumulates adjacent the roof in the event ofa fire.

2. A construction as in claim 1 wherein said sprinkler means includes a plurality of sprinkler headers arranged to discharge liquid at different levels into the building in the event of fire, a

first group of the plurality of sprinkler headers being arranged at a level closely adjacent the underside of the roof and at least one other group of sprinkler heads arranged at a level spaced below the level of the first group.

3. A construction as in claim 2 wherein the sprinkler heads of at least two groups of sprinkler heads are offset laterally, and different ones of the upright support-conduits supporting and supplying the two groups of sprinkler heads.

4. A construction as in claim 1 wherein the sprinkler means includes at least one elongated header conduit connected to and extending transversely of an upright supportconduit member, at least one sprinkler head being secured to the header conduit at a point distally of the support-conduit member that supports said header conduit, so as to substantially avoid any shadowing effect of the spray by the supportconduit member.

5. A construction as in claim 1 wherein all structural connections with the support-conduits by the rack means is with the exterior of said support-conduits so as to substantially avoid leakage of liquid from the support conduits.

6. In a fire-protected, roofed, rack-building wherein a bayed rack structure means, that provides both for article storage and for building support, includes a plurality of upright, tubular, support-conduit members for both aiding in the support of tiers of the article-storage rack means and for conveying therethrough pressurized fire extinguishing liquid that operates to absorb heat transmitted thereto through said tubular support means in the event of fire; the improvement comprising, in combination: sprinkler means connected to and supplied from said upright tubular support members for protecting both the building, and the rack structure means and the goods stored thereon, from fire,-said sprinkler means including sprinkler heads located at a plurality of different levels in the building and at a plurality of different lateral positions for protecting the. rack means and goods stored in the bays thereof from fire; and different ones of the support-conduits being arranged to supply the fluid to sprinkler heads located at said different levels so as to insure adequate supply of fiuid at various levels adjacent the rack means and the storage bays thereof. 

